Judge says ‘there is nothing to celebrate’ as Portlaoise woman reaches 100 theft convictions

Theresa Conroy has 116 previous convictions and was sentenced after stealing groceries, perfume and cosmetics from Portlaoise shops

Portlaoise Courthouse

Judge Andrew Cody said that when somebody reaches 100, it’s a time of celebration, but there were no such celebrations at Portlaoise District Court last week when a local woman received her 100th conviction under the Theft Act.

He made the comment when Theresa Conroy (40), of Hynds Square, Portlaoise, was brought before him on four counts of theft.

She pleaded guilty to the theft of €21.46 worth of groceries from Aldi, Portlaoise, on July 29; the theft of five bottles of perfume from TK Max, Portlaoise, on August 3; the theft of cosmetics from Shaws, Portlaoise, on August 7, worth €121.64; and cosmetics costing €197 from Dunnes Stores, Kyle Centre, Portlaoise, on August 8.

The court heard that Ms Conroy has 116 previous convictions, 100 of which were under the Theft Act. It also heard that she is currently in custody, with a release date of January 18 next year.

Defending solicitor Brian Duffy said that his client had been doing very well in prison for a while and was out on temporary release at the time of the offences.

He said there were underlying issues with his client involving trauma and grief and that accessing services and supports for these issues seemed to be an issue.

Judge Cody said: “We normally celebrate when somebody reaches 100, but there is nothing to celebrate here. It gives me no joy to deal with cases like this.”

He noted that until several years ago, Ms Conroy had 50 previous convictions but in a short space of time had amassed more convictions and had stolen €3,000-€4,000 worth of goods from local shops.

He went on to sentence Ms Conroy to three months in prison for one of the offences, to be served after the expiry of her current sentence, and took the other three offences into consideration.

Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme.